This invention relates to coatings systems, such as for cookware, which minimize sticking. More particularly, it relates to multilayer coating systems that can be used directly on smooth, untreated substrates and which provide concentration gradients within the coating.
Generally in the art a metal or glass substrate is roughened by some means before the first layer of coating is applied so that mechanical bonding will assist chemical adhesive means in holding the coating onto the substrate. Typical roughening means include acid etching, sand-blasting, grit-blasting, and baking a rough layer of glass, ceramic or enamel frit onto the substrate. The problem of adhesion of non-stick coatings to substrates is exacerbated by the nature of the coatings. If the coating is optimized for release to prevent food particles from sticking to it, for easy clean-up after cooking or durability, or to facilitate low friction sliding contact, almost by definition there will be difficulties in making it adhere well to the substrate.
The substrate can be metal, often aluminum or stainless steel used for cookware or industrial applications. It can be glass or ceramic. It might even be plastic for microwave oven cookware, or it could be an industrial article such as a saw made of carbon steel. Whatever the substrate or the application, if it is necessary to roughen the substrate to make the coating adhere, that at least adds cost and can cause other difficulties including creating a rough profile which can protrude or telegraph through the coating. This is especially undesirable when smoothness is sought, such as for saws, steam irons and copier rolls. The environmental cost of disposing of etchant materials can be significant. Sometimes, especially for glass and ceramic substrates, it also can cause unacceptable weakness or brittleness of the substrate.
Means of enhancing adhesion of non-stick coatings to a substrate are illustrated by the following patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,863--Vassiliou (1977) teaches a primer containing fluoropolymer, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), colloidal silica and a polyamide imide (PAI), along with other constituents, applied by various techniques to a substrate that is preferably pretreated by grit blasting, flame spraying of metals or metal oxides or frit coating, or to phosphated and chromated metals. The PTFE:PAI ratio can be 1:9. The primer coat is ordinarily applied to a dry film thickness (DFT) of about 2-15 microns (.mu.m). After air drying, the primer is topcoated with a conventional fluoropolymer enamel and baked. (Parts, percentages and proportions herein are by weight except where indicated otherwise.)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,087,394--Concannon (1987) discloses aqueous concentration gradient coatings of fluoropolymer which is 20-80% of a homopolymer or a copolymer of fluorinated ethylene-propylene (FEP) made of 5-100% tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) with 95-0% hexafluoropropylene (HFP), with 80-20% of a film forming polymer which can be PAI. The coating is applied by spraying onto aluminum sheet, or a variety of substrates. Other application techniques are mentioned. Nothing is said about substrate preparation. Although PTFE and FEP are treated as a continuum, there are no suggestions to use a blend such as 50% PTFE, 50% FEP.
Representative of nonaqueous perfluoropolymer concentration gradient patents are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,661,831 (1972) and 4,143,204 (1979) on FEP (preferably 3-20% HFP, balance TFE) with various film formers including PAI. At the end of each specification, example 24 teaches using such a coating as a primer under an ordinary PTFE topcoat on a frypan. U.K. 1,230,339 (1971) claims articles coated with nonaqueous PTFE-PAI with a concentration gradient. This and equivalent Canadian 887,122--Fang (1971) provide a single coating of PAI and PTFE on a metal substrate with a concentration gradient from mostly PAI at the substrate to mostly PTFE at the air interface. This is applied as a single coat without any special primer on ordinary steel or sand-blasted aluminum.
A mixture of FEP and PTFE in an organic dispersion is in U.S. Pat. No. 3,904,575 (1975)--Satokawa. This says that lower molecular weight PTFE permits more FEP to be included in a stable dispersion. The use of PAI and other film formers is also disclosed. The examples teach sand blasting an aluminum substrate before applying the coating.
Also, U.K. 1,454,255--Berghmans and Seymus (1976) discloses aqueous dispersion coatings of mixtures of PTFE and FEP with SiO.sub.2 and aluminum phosphate applied preferably to grit-blasted or frit-coated aluminum, but also specifically to untreated aluminum.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,112--Berghmans (1981) discloses PPS with PTFE, FEP and/or a copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and hydrocarbon ether monomer which have been completely substituted with fluorine atoms as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,292,859 (1981) and 4,351,883 (1982)--both Concannon, known as PFA, along with Al flake and TiO.sub.2 pigment, in both aqueous and non-aqueous coatings. The preferred PTFE is irradiated micropowder. PTFE micropowder may be made according to the teachings of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,116,226--Bowers (1963), 4,029,890--Brown et al (1977) or 4,200,551--Derbyshire (1980).
Coatings systems including intermediate and top coats useful with the present invention are described in various patents including:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,863--Vassiliou (1977);
U.S. Pat. No. 4,118,537--Vary and Vassiliou (1978);
U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,401--Berghmans and Vary (1978);
U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,859--Concannon and Vary (1981);
U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,882--Concannon (1982); all incorporated herein by reference.